Basics of estate planning

Understanding estate planning

Careful planning for the distribution of your estate involves protecting the assets you have worked hard to acquire, and ensuring their safe and smooth transfer to your loved ones.

Nine key estate planning considerations

An effective estate plan should:

Give you certainty as to how your assets will be managed if you are incapacitated and unable to look after your own affairs.

Establish how and when it’s best to distribute assets to your loved ones.

Cater for the current and future needs of your beneficiaries.

Protect your assets so that they pass to the right beneficiaries at the right time.

Allow your beneficiaries to legally reduce capital gains liabilities on assets and reduce or eliminate tax on income generated from their inheritance.

Allow you to minimise or avoid death benefits tax (which can be as high as 32 per cent) when distributing your superannuation benefits.

Protect your beneficiaries’ inheritance in the event of divorce or bankruptcy.

Guard against undue waste and extravagance due to spendthrift tendencies, age, mental health, drug addictions, gambling or other vulnerabilities of a beneficiary.

Distribute your assets to your intended beneficiaries, not to an in-law or former spouse, for example.

Creating your legacy plan

You’ve worked hard to accumulate your wealth, so it makes sense to take the time to carefully consider how your estate can be passed on to your family and loved ones in a straightforward manner.

At Dixon Advisory, our team of financial advisers can work in tandem with our estate planning lawyers to tailor a plan that achieves your desired distribution of wealth in a tax-effective way.

Help protect your beneficiaries

To avoid burdening your loved ones with unnecessary taxes or disputed inheritances when you pass away, we can help you develop a comprehensive estate plan that takes into consideration your wishes and the tax implications of passing on your estate.

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*The information provided will be factual information or general advice and suitable for individuals or families with combined retirement assets of more than $300,000. It has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situations or needs. Fees and charges may apply to any services or advice provided following any initial free consultation.

The information on this website is general in nature only. It has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situations or needs. You should seek personal financial advice which considers your objectives, financial situation and needs before making any financial or investment decision. Where the website refers to a particular financial product, you should obtain a copy of the relevant product disclosure statement or offer document before making any decision in relation to the product.